President of the Republic of Turkey

HE Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the Prime Minister of Turkey for 11 years, winning three consecutive elections with a majority, before becoming Turkey’s first popularly-elected president in August 2014. During his three terms as Prime Minister, Turkey saw unprecedented economic growth, constitutional reform, and a re-emergence as a major global power.

The President: President Erdogan won 52% of the vote in Turkey’s first direct elections for president. This was a continuation of his remarkable popularity and success at the ballot box over the past decade. During his time as president he has pushed aggressively for more powers for his post, a move not welcomed by all, and criticised by many as signs of wanting excessive power. He has lost support from key members of his own party, and been criticized for cracking down on the media.

Failed Coup Ramifications: The failed coup of July 15, which led to about 200 deaths, has led to huge ramifications as Erdogan looks to root out all those involved. He has squarely laid the blame of orchestrating the coup on Gulen, and has led an all-out attack on Gulen’s organisations and supporters.

There has been a major crackdown on many sectors with about 70,000 civil servants being dismissed in various state institutions, with over half from the education sector. Also, 20,000 people remain in detention with this number continually rising as authorities press ahead with regular raids.

Global Relations: Under Erdogan, Turkey has focused on building stronger relations with all of its seven land-contiguous neighbours (especially Greece) and also all of those countries bordering the Black Sea (an important trading hub and a geopolitically significant area). In Africa, it has opened up over twenty new embassies and consulates and when Somalia suffered from a crippling famine and drought in 2011, Erdogan not only gave aid, but also became the first leader from outside Africa to visit Somalia in nearly two decades. While Turkey has about 45% of its foreign trade with European countries, it is developing strong trade relations with other regions and attracting investment from all over the world.

Bait-and-Switch? In July 2015 Turkey finally declared war on da’ish after an agreement with the US. It immediately proceeded to bomb sites in Iraq and Syria that it said were PKK sites. Turkey was consequently accused by the Kurds and by some US officials of a ‘bait-and-switch’ ploy, using Da’ish as bait to fight its old nemesis, the Kurds. This was most recently demonstrated when Turkish tanks and special forces (backed by Turkish air power) crossed the border to push DA’ISH fighters out of the last village on the Syrian —Turkish border. It quickly became clear that the Turkish intervention was to prevent a Syrian Kurdish fighting force which was on the verge of taking the village from doing so and the Turkish air force attacked Kurdish forces approaching the village as well the DA’ISH fighters inside the village. Since then the Turkish armed forces and a Syrian Arab rebel group it has armed and trained have expanded the campaign against the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Challenges: Erdogan has been forced into a number of u-turns on both national and international issues; on its relationship with Israel, on its partnership with Russia, on how to contain DA’ISH, on how to deal with the Gulen movement, and on dissent within his own AKP movement. His dealings with these issues as well as the security of Turkey in the face of terrorist attacks are the major challenges facing him now.

450 %The growth in the budget for the Ministry of Education during his leadership, now the country’s largest ministry. The military formerly had that distinction.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L) and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt address a press conference at the Rosenbad government house in Stockholm, Sweden on Nov 7. Erdogan is in Sweden for a one day official visit. AFP PHOTO ...

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